Automatic pistols have a recoil which causes the slide to slam against the pistol frame at the termination of the recoil stroke. Such a pounding of a metal abutment decreases the accuracy of the pistol and may due to the increased shock caused by metal to metal pounding, result in cracking of the frame or rendering certain components inoperative over an extended period of service.
In order to cushion and buffer slide impacts, various arrangements have been devised. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,756,121 shows a spring guide made of a tough, resilient, form sustaining plastic for absorbing slide impact energy. U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,107 shows a slide shock absorbing assembly having two metal plates with a resilient plastic sheet of energy dissipating material disposed there between. U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,124 shows a recoil absorber assembly adapted to damp the recoil energy through the use of an air cushion, a spring cushion and a rubber cushion.
While the slide shock absorbing arrangements of the prior art exhibit satisfactory performance when exposed to reasonable recoil impacts, the severe load encountered in powerful pistols, such as a 10 mm pistol, can cause permanent deformation of the plastic material after repeated use. In addition, the prior art arrangements which have attempted to prevent deformation of the plastic material have involved a number of parts which can add to manufacturing and assembly costs. Moreover, the use of piston assemblies to achieve an air cushion obviously mandates a somewhat expensive and complex installation.